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Roadside Pseudoinonotus dryadeus in abundance

This is only a short post to close-off the weekend, though ideally one that is appreciated – notably, because it showcases the fungus Pseudoinonotus dryadeus in its senescent state and the associated pronounced buttressing employed by the host oak (Quercus robur). I don’t know exactly where this was, though it somewhere along the A371 in one of the villages between the border of Dorset and Somerset through to Cheddar (as if that narrows it down!).

A sublime crown reduction, no doubt!Perhaps this has something to do with it – what came first, the topping or the fruiting bodies? Given the lean on the oak, I admit I don’t actually know. Maybe the pruning wound low down on the right saw a large chunk of the crown removed, enabling for the entrance of fungal propagules and leaving the tree so one-sided?Conks of Pseudoinonotus dryadeus litter the central region between two very significant buttress roots, though we can see how the decay extends beyond the strict basal zone. The fibre buckling discernible in the above picture around the location of the fruiting bodies indicates reaction growth, in response to said buckling under the white rot conditions occurring within.Tearing off a small fragment of one of the old fruiting bodies, we can see how spiders have used the bracket as a nesting site (assuming the white mass is a spider’s abode for eggs, which I have seen similarly in spent conks of Ganoderma spp.).